Performance Evaluation of a Respiratory Virus Multiplex Real-Time PCR Panel Including SARS-CoV-2 and Its Clinical Utility in the Post-Pandemic Period

Abstract

Since severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) initially appeared, the diagnostic approach to respiratory viruses has evolved significantly. With the advent of the post-pandemic era, the prevalence of non–SARS-CoV-2 respiratory viruses has increased, underscoring the need for comprehensive diagnostic tools. We tested the performance of the PowerCheck Respiratory Virus Panel (Kogene), a multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay that includes SARS-CoV-2, on 267 residual nucleic acid samples collected during and after the pandemic. The results were compared with those from the single-target SARS-CoV-2 real-time PCR assays. The detection rates of non-SARS-CoV-2 in isolation as well as their detection rates in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 respiratory viruses were also analyzed. The PowerCheck Respiratory Virus Panel demonstrated an overall agreement of 95.88%, with a non-negative agreement of 97.18% and a negative agreement of 98.89% with the reference SARS-CoV-2 real-time PCR. Although the difference was not statistically significant, the codetection rate of SARS-CoV-2 with other respiratory viruses was greater in the post-pandemic period. Detection of non–SARS-CoV-2 respiratory viruses in SARS-CoV-2–negative samples was also more frequent following the pandemic. The PowerCheck Respiratory Virus Panel reliably detected SARS-CoV-2. In the post-pandemic era, where multiple respiratory viruses are circulating, multiplex PCR assays targeting a diverse spectrum of pathogens may exhibit greater clinical utility than SARS-CoV-2–specific PCR alone.